Collar-fastener.



A PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905. P. A. KLAPPAUF, o. WEINZABPFLBN & A. RIBBR.

COLLAR FASTENER. v APPLloATIoNn'LnD 11110.?. 1903(` Amm/Ey v I UNITEDSTATESv Patented anuary 3 1, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALPHONSE RIBER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COLLAR-PASTE NER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,432, dated January31, 1905.

Application filed December '77, 1903. Serial No. 184,141.

I, To @M whom t may concern? Be itknown that we, FERDINAND ANTONKLAPPAUE, a citizen of the United States, and CHARLES VVEINZAEPELEN andALPHONSE RI- BER, subjects of the Emperor of Germany, all` residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented anew and useful Collar-Fastener, of which the. follow.

-ing is a description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,'forming a part of this specification, in which correspondingnumerals of reference in the different figures indicate like parts. v

Our invention relates to collar-fasteners as are used in horse-collarsfor disconnecting and connecting the lower ends of their two symmetricalhalves from and to each other, thereby facilitating the collar being puton and being removed from the horse-neck.

lWe preferably use this collar-fastenerin a certain horse-collarinventedby us and made the object of a patent application filed October14, `1903, Seriah-No. 177,035; but we propose to use thiscollar-fasteneralso in all such other horse-collarsas are constructed ,so

. as to permit and make desirable its adaptacouplingy devices or `locksof different con-A tion. We furthermore employ our contrivance fornumerous other purposes in place of struction. Y

The object of our invention is a very simple and at the Sametime rigidconstruction of a collar-fastener that can easily be operated and takenapart and is safely protected against accidental disconnection. 'Weattain this ob- `ject by the mechanism illustrated inthe draweach of thelatter is inclosed 'in and rigidly connected to a metalcasing 3 4,preferably made of brass or some other Shining metal Aand decorated byornaments.

These casings 3 and 4, together with the hook 5, lever 6, spring 7, bolt8,. and bar 9, the latterbeing a part of the casing 3, constitute thecollarfastener ori-.coupling device. The hook 5 and the lever 6, beingpivoted on the bolt 8, are preferably forged in one piece.

By moving the two casings 3 and 4, as shownin Fig. 3, toward each otherthe hook 5 strikes'with its inclined plane against the lower edge of thebar 9, bends down into the hole 10, thereby lifting the lever 6 andcompressing the spring 7. As soon as the two casings 3 and 4 are 'closeto each other the hook 5 has advanced so farinto the hole 10 down thelever 6, thereby lifting the hook 5,

the nose of which occupies now the, space in the cavity behind the bar9. The collar-fastener is now engaged or locked. By pressing a thumbagainst the bentl part 11'of the lever 6 and by simultaneously pullingthe two hames apart the collar-fastener becomes unlocked again.

i In order to'prevent the collar-fastener becoming unlocked by accident,Vthe bent part 11 of the lever 6 is protected 'by 'a projection 12,forming a recess for said bent part 11. This recess and hole inclosed bythe circular projection 12 is large enough as to allow. of the lever6,'hook 5, and spring 7 being removed through'the same out of thecasing4 after the bolt 8 has been taken from its place. Naturally hook,lever, and spring can also be brought back through the same hole andrecess into the position shown. This arrangement, together with thespiral spring 7 resting directly in the cavity formed on the upper sideof the bent part 11 of thelever 6, makes e the collar-fastener verysimple and reliable.

Ribs 15 and 16, resting against each other when the collar-fastener isengaged, reinforce the same against bending by the strain from thedrafts, and another reinforcement is af forded by providing the casing 4with a projection 13, fitting into a corresponding hole 14 in the casing3. I

It willl be understood that the bal: 9 may be fastened instead of bymeans of the casing 3 in numerous other ways to one of the hames or toone of the symmetrical halves of the horse-collar or to any object thatis to be provided with a bar 9 in order to connect the same by means ofour coupling device to a second object carrying the hook and the otherparts of the mechanism, and the shape of the casing L may also bechanged in any suitable way in order to meet the conditions andrequirements of any special case of the application of our couplingdevice.

It will be observed that a feature of importance lies in so pivoting thelatch in reference to the opening in the under side of the casing 4 thatthe thumb-piece on the casing will bear against the margin of thethumb-opening and be held there by the spring in convenient position foroperation by the thumb, while at the same time the thumb-piece will beprotected by the guard-Hange l2, said flange projecting beyond the outersurface of the thumbpiece,'so that the thumb-piece cannot beaccidentally operated, while at the saine time it substantially coversthe opening in the casing. The latch is so positioned with respect tothe opening that it may be inserted in the casing through the openingand may be withdrawn therefrom for repair or renewal by removing thepivot 8, the opening being large enough to permit the latch to passthrough. lt will be observed also that the position of the spring withrespect to the opening is such that the spring also may be passed inthrough the opening and withdrawn therethrough at will.

We claiml. In a device of the class described, the combination of thellame-sections, a metallic casing inclosing the end of each of thesesections, the end wall of one of the casings being provided with a pairof openings and the other wall being provided with a projection adaptedto enter one of the aforesaid openings and an opening adapted to comeopposite the other opening in the opposite casing, this lastn namedcasing being provided with an opening in its under side, a latch pivotedin this latter casing at a point between the opening and the end wall ofthe casing and projecting out through the opening in said end wall, thislatch being provided with an inwardly-extending thumb-piece restingagainst the margin of the opening in the under side of the casing andsubstantially closing the same, and an actuating-spring interposedbetween said thumb-piece and an adjacent part of the hame and arrangedsubstantially in line with said opening, the latch and the spring beingof such size that they may be inserted and withdrawn through saidopening.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of the twosections, the end of each of which is inclosed by a metallic casing, theabutting end walls of these casings heilig provided with coincidingopenings and one of the casings being provided in addition with athumb-opening in its under side, a latch pivoted within this lattercasing and projecting through the opening in its end wall and adapted toenter the opening in the opposite end wall, this latch being pivoted ata point between said thumb-opening and the opening in the end wall andbeing provided with an operating or thumb piece bearing against themargin of said opening and substantially closing the saine, and anaetuatiiig-spring inclosed in said casing and normally holding saidthumb-piece over the opening.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of the twohaine-sections each of which is inclosed in a metallic casing, the endwall of one of the casings being provided with a pair of openings andthe end wall of the other casing being provided with an openingcoinciding with one of said opposite openings and with a projectionadapted to enter the other of said opposite openings, one of saidcasings being provided with a marginal flange adapted to engage the edgeof the other casing and assist in holding the parts in alinement and oneof the casings being provided with a thumb-opening in its under side,this thumb-opening being provided with an outward-projecting marginalguardiange, the latch being pivoted in its latter casing between saidthumb-opening and the end wall of the casing and adapted to enter theopening in the opposite end wall, this latch being provided with athumb-piece bearing against and substantially closing the thumbopening,and an actuating-spring inclosed in the easing and arrangedsubstantially in line with the thumb-opening, substantially as setforth.

FERDINAND ANTON KlnillA lll". CHARLES WlllNZAEllflillN. ALPHONSE ltlldl.Vitnesses:

H. VON DOMMING, J. P. HAND.

